h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This page/tool could do with 2 dates - the date the U# was created and the date the PS A# was created. Then an option to order by PS creation date could be added. At the moment it is only keyed off U# creation date.

So people who sign up in a fit of enthusiasm (after an advert?) but who wander off (for whatever reason) and then come back to set up a PS etc don't show up for ACEs checking this list in the normal manner. I've been carefully modifying the URL by hand to get back to U#s of 30 months ago who have only just started using h2g2. Some may have posted once before becoming absent when they got no reply. A lot of the "newbies" I've been ACEing have come in batches from a couple of years ago and suddenly sprang into activity at the end of last year or even last night ("last night" being a moving target!). So far no-one seems to have been cross to be ACEd for returning to the fold, but these people would be (and have been) missed by the current standard ACE check procedure.

Modifying URLs is a bit too devious for some and would be unnecessary if the list of NewUsers was sorted by or keyed off PS A# creation. As suggested before, it could be done this way as well as by U# creation - I'd nearly always vote for the more buttons/functionality option.

You could just click the older users link a couple of hundred times.

Tango

It wouldn't work - it says "No Older Registrations" if the URL limits it to, say 12 months!

RhoMuNuQ

How do you know, i doubt you've tested that theory...

Tango

... and if I asked you what the "Preview" button did?

RhoMuNuQ

The preview button allows you to see what a post will look like after you've posted it, without actually posting it, what's your point?

Tango

I was meaning that I had tested the theory!

RhoMuNuQ

I think I'm probably insulted that certain people might think I hadn't explored such options...

Hi Guys,

I am going to invite the ACEs in to discuss modifications to this tool. From an internal point of view anything that makes the job easier is a good thing.

Many people who are in the situation described by SEF, come via h2g2 Support, because most people cannot remember their log in details. Perhaps an interim measure would be to let the ACEs know any people who come back to h2g2?

Abi

Would h2g2 Support post on the Yahoo ACEs group then? It could be a more permanent procedure than just a temporary solution. I assume it doesn't happen too often - or to the same people!

There might be a slight issue with ACE overkill - everyone leaping in at once (although the researcher still does have to set up a PS). On the other hand, perhaps one can never have too many ACEs...

Does h2g2 Support specifically mention ACEs and Gurus to researchers returning that way? One could say these users are already known to have some problems with computers - though forgetting a password is all too easy!

This brings to mind another issue I'd thought of a while back - time zones. It might be an idea for ACEs/Gurus to be displayed with time-zones to help researchers pick one most likely to be around when they suddenly panic. The drop-down lists of volunteers could even have online eyes (yes, I know some people hate these).

Many Moons ago I started the welcome mat which was a list of newly activated pages - supplied to me by Mark Moxon - it was the forerunner to the newusers page. I ran this list and it culled out all the late activated pages with a program I wrote which did it in seconds. The program then automatically produced a page which I cut and pasted on site with these highlighted at the top of the page.

The page was later taken over by Talisin.

On moving over to the BBC - Mark became more busy or BBC red tape did not allow this information to go out to third parties even though they may be an Ace - Which-ever the list was no longer produced.

It would be easy for one of the BBC program bods to reproduce a program that did the same job and which would make a page which Aces could check - just with late activated pages.

I know it can be done - I did it ! as older Aces will remember.

This would still be a handy tool for Aces and as the BBC bods will have far more information than Tal or I were given. therefore it would be easier to cull out late activated pages.

Also, If I may bring this up here - The three dot system at the end of an Aced message was going to be put on the to do list - I believe it was put aside because of the diffculties of knowing if it was an Ace who made the posting - as Aces come and Go. Plus, just a change in colour of the posting would not be acceptable due to some people being colour blind.

Could I suggest Aces are given a key combination code to use in the subject heading of a posting.

The secret Key combination could produce a mini Ace Logo (or Volunteer logo)in the subject line - The logo could be seen by all and be clicked upon to lead to an information page.

Possible combination could be two characters/Numbers whilst holding down the Control or Alt Key. XML would change this to a Volunteer logo for all time. - The key coding could be changed from time to time as people come and go from the Volunteers group. This way old Aces would not know the latest combination.

OK, Thats put my two cents worth - lets see where it leads.

All the Best
veggie

>Would h2g2 Support post on the Yahoo ACEs group then? It could be a more permanent procedure than just a temporary solution. I assume it doesn't happen too often - or to the same people!

Well given that I managed the Support email account and I manage the ACEs I think that that we are hardly talking about a 100/1 outsider here.

>>>There might be a slight issue with ACE overkill - everyone leaping in at once (although the researcher still does have to set up a PS). On the other hand, perhaps one can never have too many ACEs...

Well generally when I ask for help in ACEforum, it is usual for one ACE to volunteer to help. Overkill is a danger, but then again some newbies like to feel that they are being welcomed by lots of people.

>>>Does h2g2 Support specifically mention ACEs and Gurus to researchers
returning that way? One could say these users are already known to have some problems with computers - though forgetting a password is all too easy!

No we don't - h2g2 Support is designed to get people on site as quickly as possible where on site support is available. We do not offer email support for anything other then moderation and log in queries.

>>>This brings to mind another issue I'd thought of a while back - time zones. It might be an idea for ACEs/Gurus to be displayed with time-zones to help researchers pick one most likely to be around when they suddenly panic. The drop-down lists of volunteers could even have online eyes (yes, I know some people hate these).

I believe that there is already a feature suggestion for having a time zone indicator on people's personal spaces. However, I am not convinced that dropdown lists are the best place to put this information. It strikes me as unweidly.

Of course there is another thing about your suggestion. If people haven't activated their personal space, why would they bother to reactivate the old account. Surely they would just set up a new one?

I never really understood the welcome mat, but then again it went away before I got the chance to figure it out...
Finding new "old" users is very time-consuming, so I would welcome a page/device to make this simpler.

A key combination code sounds cool.

PS Abi, I refer you to my other reply yesterday on the dev server.

Thanks SEF, I have seen it.

Hi there, people! I've just read Abi's email...

I'm confused as to what's been suggested - do we actually need all this stuff? As far as I see it, what I'd ideally need out of the <./>NewUsers</.> tool is a system which shows all people that have not had a message left on their space by someone who was an ACE at the time that the message was posted. This could then be ordered by U-ID, Last Posting, Space Activation Date.

Does that cover everything? I'm afraid that I didn't quite follow the part about parsing a wee little image into subject lines and so on...

Whoami?

I've just thought of a much simpler way to show that an account had been ACEd.

Why not have a link on the page, similar to the "Add to Friends" link, that only ACEs can see? This link, which of course could only be clicked by a current ACE, could mark the page (either visibly on the page or not) as ACEd and could be used as a filter on <./>NewUsers</.>! Of course, the ACEs would have to remember to click the link but, if one forgot to do so, the next ACE that visited the page, thinking it had not been ACEd, could instead click it.

RhoMuNuQ

To me, that would seem like a half-way house from actually having the computer do the work - by checking the UID of the poster leaving the message on an unACEd space against the list of current ACEs, and tagging the space appropriately if it was indeed an ACE leaving the message.

More work for Jim, less work for us. It's my mantra, you know.

Whoami?

... but if it's too much work for Jim, we would never get the feature

RhoMuNuQ

After spending the last couple of hours..checking..&..ACEing..2**..newbies..I agree..something that shows an ACE has posted on a newbies space....

I also don't understand the other stuff..at the beginning of the conversation thread..no..lol..don't try to explain it..I'm happy to be ignorant of such things....

Emmily